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06/03 & 06/17/2003 Report Monthly Report June 2003 For Skate Park Task Force 1. Meetings were held on (list dates during month) Fundraising meetings were held on June 3 and 17. 2. Current activities (summarize): The following is Rich Carlson's recent status report. At last week's meeting (6/17), the Task Force discussed its upcoming presentation at the Tigard Rotary Luncheon scheduled for July 17. The Task Force intends to make similar presentations to other civic organizations to enlist support for the project. The Task Force also discussed its participation at the upcoming Tigard Optimist Fun Day presently scheduled for July 19 at Tigard High School. Several students volunteered to solicit pledges in order to make this a worthwhile fundraising event. The Task Force would also like to participate in the Old Fashioned Fourth of July at Tigard High School, as well as other civic events such as the Interactive Teen Health Expo scheduled for August 19 and the Tigard Blast scheduled for September 13. Our participation would be geared toward recruiting additional volunteers to help us with fundraising. Jakob Ferrier is designing a brochure that we can use in fundraising. His father,Jai, is going to help with designing Skate Park T-shirts that the Task Force will sell, along with a sign for the potential site. The Task Force has a lot of things going on but we still need additional student and adult volunteers to roll up their sleeves and get involved. 3. Status of long-term projects: The major long-term project is fundraising. Rich has set two fundraising meetings a month on the 1s`and 3"Tuesdays for the next year. Receipts have been printed and delivered to Rich on June 25. 4. Number of volunteer hours contributed this month (noted number of volunteers and total hours). N/A 5. Attachments (include notifications, sign-in sheets, minutes, reports,press releases, proposals, etc.) The skate park was hi-lighted in this month's CityScape Newsletter(see attached). 6. Any items to be scheduled for on the Council tentative agenda (list item and date): n/a 7. Status of members—are there any members scheduled to have their terms expire in the next four months? Are any members indicating that they plan to retire, move or resign soon? Please give details. N/A UADWCATHY00ARDCOM\MONTHLY REPORT DRAFT FORM.DOC Cityscape Newsletter A Skate Park for Tigard In 2001,members of the Mayor's Youth Forum collected information about what services were being provided to youth and what additional services were needed. The idea of a skate park was suggested. Mayor Griffith established the Skateboard Park Task Force to investigate the idea and named Youth Forum member Rich Carlson as the chairperson. The Task Force quickly organized and divided into three subgroups: Design,Site Selection and Finance Committees. Committee meetings were well attended with up to 80 people joining in on the planning efforts! On May 14, 2002, Council approved the Task Force's recommendation to select Purkiss Rose Landscape for architectural design conceptual services. The resulting conceptual design is shown on page 8. The next focus of the Task Force was site selection. The members looked at public and private property. The cost of private property was too expensive,so the Task Force narrowed its search to publicly-owned sites. A matrix,setting forth 16 criteria,was developed to evaluate these sites. The Task Force was looking for a site that would be centrally located in Tigard, be highly visibly,have adequate parking, offer enough acreage to support the skate park and auxiliary facilities,and be accessible to public transportation. At an April 2 meeting of the Task Force,after a review of the site evaluations and considerable discussion, attendees unanimously endorsed the City Hall parking lot area as the preferred city-owned site. The City Council,at its April 15 Workshop meeting, agreed to locate a skate park facility of at least 15,000 square feet in the City Hall parking lot site identified by the Task Force.The Council felt that this was a good location because it's on a bus line,near the Police Department,visible,and centrally located. Although the site will not be available for 18 months,when the library will move to its new location,the Task Force is moving ahead with a fundraising campaign. The goal is to raise $392,470. HELP WANTED! If the skateboard park is to proceed, it will need to be funded entirely by donations and fundraising as no city money will be used to construct the park. Skate Park Task Force meetings are held on the 1 st and 3rd Tuesday of each month, 7— 8:30 p.m. at the Tigard Water Building located at 8777 SW Burnham in Tigard. Everyone is welcome! If you have any questions or would like to get involved, please contact Task Force Chairman Rich Carlson at rich@teleport.com or 503-224-0871 or Tigard Parks Manager Daniel Plaza at daniel@ci.tigard.or.us or 503- 639-4171, ext. 2590. July 2003 www.ci.tigard.or.us Page 5 City of Tigard Tigard Skate Park Questions and Answers 1. Why build a skate park for skateboarding and in-line skating? Tigard supports its youth. Providing opportunities for young people to be engaged in constructive activities benefits everyone. The skate park will help meet the need for after-school activities for youth. It will also help minimize skateboard and in-line skate conflicts with local businesses and pedestrians. The skate park presents an opportunity to involve teens and parents in the public process and establish the sense of ownership and pride that comes from achieving an accomplishment. 2. Don't skaters damage facilities, scare patrons, annoy property owners, and put themselves and others at risk when they skate on public and private property? Yes. One of the concerns of the City Council and local businesses is that skateboarding and in-line skating can cause damage to public and private facilities. The presence of skaters can be intimidating to patrons and annoying to property owners. When skating in parking lots and on narrow sidewalks, and mixing with vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic, skaters put themselves and others at risk. These are additional reasons why the City Council wants to provide a safe location for skateboarding and in-line skating. 3. Whose idea was this? In the fall of 2001, high school students asked the Tigard City Council if the city would work with them to develop a skate park for skateboarding and in-line. The students offered to work on the design, fundraising, construction, and maintenance. 4. Won't the city's liability insurance go sky high? No. There will not be an increase in the city's insurance premium. The insurer views skate parks as they do other park features such as playgrounds, sports fields, swimming pools, and basketball courts. However, the skate park must be properly designed and maintained. This is one reason the city hired an experienced consulting firm to plan the skate park. The city's insurer has reviewed and accepted the proposed conceptual design. 5. Where will it be located? The first skate park will be located at the northeast corner of the parking lot at City Hall. The site was chosen because it is owned by the city, which eliminates land purchase costs. The area is centrally located, and is large enough to accommodate the park. 6. How did you come up with the design? The city funded the conceptual design phase and hired a consultant to work with young people to complete the design and provide a cost estimate for construction. The conceptual design depicts a skate park that is 15,000 square feet in size. Approximately 100 youth and adults helped create the design through three public involvement meetings held at the Tigard Water District Building and Town Hall. The design includes concrete bowls, ridges, a pyramid, and other "street skating" and "free style" elements desired by skateboarders and in-line skaters. The features can be combined to create many unique "lines" or circuits at various levels. The features have a maximum height of five feet and will be constructed of extra strong concrete with steel edging for durability and safety. Page 6 www.ci.tigard.or.us C17YSCAPE Cityscape Newsletter 7. How much will it cost? Projected cost for development of an initial 15,000 square foot skate park is $392,470. The park will be designed so that it can be expanded in two additional phases. 8. Who's going to pay for it? Funds will be raised through private donations of cash and in-kind contributions of labor and materials. Young people will be actively involved with the fundraising effort. This is a unique chance for volunteers of all ages and interests to increase Tigard's recreational opportunities and to contribute to the community. The fundraising and construction effort, and the resulting skate park facility, will be a cooperative effort that the community can take pride in. 9. Why go to this effort for a passing fad? Skateboarding has been popular in the United States for more than 30 years. According to the National Sporting Goods Association,there were more than 4.3 million participants nationally in 1995 and the numbers are steadily growing. The majority of skateboarders are between the ages of 13 and 18 and primarily male, although females are showing an increasing interest in the sport. Advances in equipment and facilities have opened skateboarding to all ages and abilities,while reducing the number and severity of injuries. Some advancements include the use of urethane wheels that allow for speed and maneuverability. In-line skating is a recent sport that is sweeping the nation. According to the National Sporting Goods Association, there were 3.6 million participants in 1990. By 1995 there were 23.9 million participants, representing a 664% increase in five years. Unlike skateboarding, in-line skating draws youth and adults, male and female alike. Many people, who experience knee or other joint pain with other athletic activities, find in-line skating an inexpensive fitness alternative. Recently, the in-line skaters have moved onto the skateboard parks and begun to do stunts and tricks previously associated with skateboarding. These same tricks are done on snowboards by snowboarders. 10. Aren't you just asking for trouble with fighting, drugs, and gangs? The experience of other communities with skate parks is that they are not usually associated with fighting, drugs, or gangs. Skating is the usual activity. Skaters practice and show their skills to each other. They teach and support each other, and self-regulate behavior, taking turns using favorite features. 11. When will the skate park be open for use? The Task Force is currently beginning their fundraising campaign. The parking lot site will be available once the new library is built and the current library space is renovated for office use. Construction could begin in the spring of 2005 and the park could be open in the late summer or early fall of 2005. 12. So what's "grinding", "waxing", "ollie", and "fakie"? This is jargon used by skateboarders and in-line skaters. Grinding is move whereby the skater slides along an edge (a curb, stair, rail) on their skates. Waxing refers to coating the top of an edge with a thick coat of wax to ease grinding. An ollie occurs when the board leaves the ground and travels through the air with the skater. Sometimes skaters grab the board or flip it with their feet in mid-air. Skating backwards is called a fakie. 13. How can I help? There are plenty of opportunities for individuals, organizations and businesses to support the skate park. You can work with the fundraising groups to obtain the needed resources, donate cash, or contribute in-kind materials and labor. 14. Where can I get more information? Contact Skate Park Task Force Chairperson Rich Carlson at rich@teleport.com or 503-224-0871, or Tigard Parks Manager Daniel Plaza at daniel@ci.tigard.or.us or 503-639-4171, ext. 2590. July 2003 www.ci.tigard.or.us Page 7 t City of Tigard Conceptual design for Tigard 's skatepark 0 � 1 f I Llr Site Location: City Hall parking lot- NE corner located at 13125 SW Hall Blvd. Size: 15,000 square feet Projected Cost: $392,470 Projected Completion, Date: Late 2005 Get Involved: Meetings held the 1 st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month,7 - 8:30 p.m. at the Tigard Water Building, 8555 SW Burnham, Tigard. Everyone is welcome. Take a Closer Look: Visit the city's web site at www.ci.tigard.or.us and view a larger image of the conceptual design. For More Information: Contact Task Force Chairman Rich Carlson at rich@teleport.com or 503-224-0871 or Tigard Parks Manager Daniel Plaza at daniel@ci.tigard.or.us or 503-639-4171, ext. 2590. Page 8 www.ci.tigard.or.us CITYSCAPE